Before you start your project, acknowledge that you are preparing an entry to a contest. Contests, whether they are associated with sports or academics, have rules. Football players must follow the rules to score. Science fair contestants must also follow the rules if they intend to receive a high score. The basic rule for the science fair contest is that the entry must have a problem that can be solved experimentally with measurable results. There are other science fair project rules that must be followed, and these may vary from one local fair to another. Your teacher is the source for a list of these rules for your fair.

Read the following information carefully. It contains a basic outline for a plant pigment project. Even though your project may not be about plant pigments, the example can assist you in designing a project about any topic.

Getting Started

In designing a science fair project, you need to start with research. Then take a "bird’s-eye view" of the whole project before definitely deciding on the project question.

1. "Tinkering" Research or "I Don’t Know What Topic to Choose" Research

   Begin your research by reading different printed science materials, performing exploratory investigations, asking questions of knowledgeable people, and checking out information on the Web. From your research information, decide on a topic that you find interesting, such as pigments in plants.

2. Project Research or "I Have a Topic; Now What Kind of Problem Can I Solve?"

   If your topic is plant pigments, find out as much as possible about them:

   1. Check out plant pigments on different Web sites.
   2. Search books for information on plant pigments.
   3. As you research, write down inquiring questions, such as these:
      • How is chlorophyll produced?
      • What is chlorosis?
      • What effect does light have on the production of pigment in plants?

      Select one of the inquiry questions that most interests you and proceed to the next step.

II. Project Question

Assume the inquiry question selected is What effect does light have on the production of chlorophyll? Determine whether this can be your science fair question by asking yourself these questions:

Determine whether this can be your science fair question by asking yourself these questions:

1. Is it about animals? No, it is not. (If the answer had been yes, you would need special permission from your teacher to work with animals.)
2. Does it compare products? No, it does not. (If the answer had been yes, you would need to check with your teacher to make sure product comparison is an acceptable project. While some local fairs encourage product evaluation, others do not. Often, regional fairs have a special section for product comparisons.)
3. Can you state a hypothesis for the question? (A hypothesis is a guess about the answer to the question, but the guess must be based on facts. It must be something that is testable with measurable results.) Yes, a hypothesis can be stated for the inquiry question. (If the answer is No, I cannot state a hypothesis for the question, then reword the question or select another one.)

Sample Project Questions

Do choose a question that can be answered experimentally with measurable results. The question What is chlorosis? can be answered by reading about chlorosis (loss of green color in plants) in a science book. It cannot be answered by experimenting.

Do limit your question. The question What effect does light have on the production of pigment in plants? is not specific enough. What kind of light? What specific pigment? The question What effect does duration of sunlight have on chlorosis? is specific and has a measurable result.

III. Hypothesis (A testable and measurable guess as to the answer of the project question, based on facts.)

1. Is your hypothesis testable and measurable?
   • A non-testable hypothesis might be Light affects chlorosis. (Affects in what way? There is no clue as to what results are expected.)
   • A non-measurable hypothesis might be Sunlight is better than incandescent light. (Better at what? You cannot measure whether something is “better.” You must have something specific to compare and something specific to measure.)
   • A possible testable and measurable hypothesis might be If a plant does not receive sunlight, then chlorosis occurs increases with time, based on the fact that green grass turns yellow if covered by an opaque object for a time.
2. Can you think of a way to test your hypothesis experimentally with measurable results? If the answer is no, then you need to reword your hypothesis or select another one.

IV. Project Experiment (Experiment designed to test a hypothesis.)

The project experiment at this stage needs to be only a basic design in your mind, not a step-by-step procedure. Think about the experiment and ask yourself the following questions. If the answer to any of these questions is no, you need to redesign the experiment.

A possible experiment might be the following:

Cover areas of grass with opaque materials, such as opaque plastic cups that can be partially pushed into the ground. Remove a cup after 24 hours and take a photo of the grass that was covered. Do not replace this cup. Repeat this procedure with other cups each 24 hours for 10 days. Compare the photographs to determine how long it takes for chlorosis to occur.

Determine whether this can be your science fair experiment by asking yourself these questions:

1. Does it have measurable results (results that can be measured with an instrument like a ruler, scale, stopwatch, or other type of scale, such as a dye fading scale)? Yes, while degree of color loss is not an exact measurement, it can be ranked from least to most, and time is an exact measurement.
2. Does it have an independent variable (variable being changed by the experimenter)? Yes, the duration of light.
3. Does it have a dependent variable (variable being observed that changes in response to the independent variable)? Yes, the amount of loss of color.
4. Does it have a control (a test in which the independent variable is kept constant in order to measure changes in the dependent variable, or a reference decided on by the experimenter as a standard for comparison)? Yes, the control could be a clear container that allows full sunlight during the entire investigation. Since the other areas are covered by a container, thus restricting air flow, the control area must also be covered.
5. Does it have controlled variables (all the variables that will be the same in each experiment—not to be confused with the control)? Yes, controlled variables are such things as the same type of materials used to cover the grass and the same weather conditions, such as temperature and moisture of the soil.

V. Data

Data is the only way that a judge has to determine whether or not you did an experiment. Judges like to see tables, charts, or graphs of the measured results. Any project that has data generally gets an automatic second look by judges. If there is no data, judges start to look for the reason why, and they usually conclude that the student doesn’t understand what an experiment is or how to do one.

VI. The Experiment

Once you have decided on your project question, your hypothesis, and basically how you are going to test your hypothesis experimentally and record your data, then start your project by designing the experiment step by step. Do perform the experiment four or more times. For the chlorosis project, this would be done by having four or more cups for each time segment. Record the results of each test and determine an average for the results.

For information on how to develop an idea into a science fair project, record data, and write the conclusion, reports, and abstracts, as well as display the project, see these books:

Guide to the Best Science Fair Projects.
Janice VanCleave. Wiley, 1997.

Guide to More of the Best Science Fair Projects.
Janice VanCleave. Wiley, 2000.